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Sunday, July 19, 2009

Author Interview & Contest with Kimberly Frost

My guest this week is author Kimberly Frost! I was lucky enough to win a copy of her debut novel 'Would-be Witch' and wrote this review!

Not only does the series (book 2 is due out in September) have amazing covers but it has a great lead character and a cute cat! I can't wait to read 'Barely Bewitched' when it is released and I hope this interview will entice you all to pick up the first book or even win a copy....

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Amber - Welcome to Amberkatze's Book Blog! It is great to have you as a guest here and I hope you will enjoy your time here ;) Maybe you can start things off for us by telling my readers a bit about your debut release WOULD-BE WITCH?

Kimberly - WOULD-BE WITCH is one of those “kitchen sink” novels that mixes different elements; it combines fantasy, mystery, romance, and action-adventure. I jokingly say it’s Charmed meets The Dukes of Hazzard.

Tammy Jo Trask, a small-town Texas girl from a family of witches, has always lacked the gift—until now. When the family locket, which is linked to the soul of the family ghost, is stolen, Tammy starts casting spells to recover it. Unfortunately, the spells go horribly and humorously wrong. Next thing she knows, she’s involved with a forbidden wizard and fighting werewolves, all while trying to find the locket before the ghost is lost forever.

Amber - How was the idea for the series born? Was it a long process or something that just came to you?

Kimberly - It just came to me. I had the idea for the series about a year before I began to write it. I had been reading a lot of humorous mysteries and dark urban fantasies and wondered if I could combine my favorite elements from each.

Amber - Are you anything like Tammy Jo or any of the other characters in your book? Are any of them based on people you know?

Kimberly - Tammy Jo cares about people--no matter how crazy and eccentric they are--and she has a high level of personal responsibility. If there's a problem, she'll try to help fix it. I'm like that.

In terms of our backgrounds, we're very different. She grew up without a dad and never felt like she could live up to her family's expectations. She married and divorced very young. She wasn't great in school, but is a creative genius in the kitchen. None of that comes from my experience.

Likewise, the other characters in series were inspired by a lot of different influences, not on any one specific person.

Amber - Although Tammy Jo is the star of the series there is a certain feline character who I am totally in love with! I guess you are a cat person? Will Merc be a fixed character? Will we find out more about him?

Kimberly - Yes, I love cats, but I'm allergic to them. So wrong! Merc will be a fixed character, and we learn more of his backstory in BARELY BEWITCHED (Book 2).

Amber - WOULD-BE WITCH is just the first book in the series. What can we expect next? How long will the series go on?

Kimberly - BARELY BEWITCHED will be available on September 1st, 2009 and I'm waiting to hear from the publisher about whether they want more books in the series. I'd love to do more!

Amber - You have been blessed with an amazing cover artist! Did you get any say in picking the covers? Were there other covers taken into consideration?

Kimberly - The cover is fantastic! I did have some input in that I provided a lot of information about the book, including character descriptions, pictures of ocelots, etc. But then the cover artist went off on his own and worked his magic. When he came back with the WOULD-BE WITCH cover, we all knew it would catch readers' eyes, which was very exciting.

Amber - How did you end up being a writer? Was it something you always wanted to do?

Kimberly - Yes, I've written since I was a child. I treated it as a wonderful hobby for many years. In 2002, I decided to seriously try to get a book published. I started going to writers' conferences and presentations. I learned about the business, etc.

I got my agent in the fall of 2006, and she sold WOULD-BE WITCH and the sequel in the summer of 2007.

Amber - How did you end up writing paranormal romance? Was it planned?

Kimberly - Not exactly. I actually didn't begin reading romance until 2003, but I'd always had romantic subplots in my stories. I've always liked seeing characters fall in love, but didn't realize that the romance genre was so vast and would allow so much flexibility for an author.

WOULD-BE WITCH isn't really a romance. It doesn't end with Tammy Jo getting married and living happily-ever-after with one of the guys. It ends with the love triangle still in play. It's more of a fantasy/mystery/adventure series with romantic threads running through it.

I do plan to write some paranormal romances that are focused on the romance itself and that have a happily-ever-after ending where you know whom the girl ends up with.

Amber - What books do you like to read when you have time? Do you have any must read authors/series?

Kimberly - Obviously, I love to read. I love watching television series on DVD. I'm addicted to Netflix. I also often unwind on the phone with close friends. I've had some marathon phone conversations.

I like meeting people for brunch or dinner, having a margarita or a coffee. Writing is a solitary profession, but I'm very social by nature, so I have to connect with people when I'm not in front of my laptop.

Amber - Lots of authors have playlists for their books. What music or bands would find their way onto a playlist for your Southern Witch series?

Kimberly - The Dixie Chicks, Toby Keith, Martina McBride, and Robert Earl Keen were often playing in the background when I was first trying to get into the Tammy Jo universe.

Amber - If you could be any paranormal creature what would you be and why?

Kimberly - Definitely a witch because they have a lot of freedom. They can go to sun-drenched beaches (unlike vampires), they can dance under the full moon (unlike shifters), and they can perform all sorts of different spells depending on what the situation calls for.

Amber - You are stranded on a desert island. What 5 things do you hope to have with you?

Kimberly - A friend, a toothbrush, a box of books, a box of matches, and a knife

Amber - Thank you so much for being a guest on Amberkatze's Book Blog. I hope you will pop by again sometime!

Kimberly has kindly said she will send the lucky winner of this weeks contest a copy of Would-Be Witch! This is your chance to get a copy of one of the best books I have read so far this year!

All you have to do to enter let us know what kind of spell you would use the most if you were a witch?

No Spell = No entry!

The usual rules apply!

Earn another entry for each place you link this contest on the net. Make sure you add links here for me to confirm your entries!

You can also earn extra entries by emailing your friends about the contest. Just make sure you send a copy of your email or receipt to me at Amberkatzes_book_blog at gmx dot net.

The contest will stay open until Sunday 26th of July 2009 4pm CET and the winner will be picked by a randomizer. Entrants should check back to see if they have won. I do not hunt down winners and will pick new winners for any prizes not claimed within 7 days.

If you are claiming a prize, have emailed me and have not heard back before the 7 day limit is up then post a comment here on the blog. Your email may get sucked into my spam filter.

Sounds like a great series! I never even though of using some of the spells others mentioned. Cooking, cleaning.. love the ideas! My first thought was an invisibility spell. Sort of like Harry Potter uses his cloak of invisibility to learn what's going on.

I'm a subscriber using both google connect and getting the feed via emails.

I love the cover of Would-Be Witch! The story of a Texas witch sounds interesting (I'm a Texas girl) and I would love to find out more about Merc. My curiosity meter is spiking. Thanks for the interview.

It hard picking just one spell. I think I would use a "get ready" spell. So, in a snap of my fingers, I'll be dress, brushed and ready to go.

Oh that was a great interview! i have to admitt i didn't know about these books before...i'm adding them to my "to be read" list! Sound really interesting !

As for the spell it made me smile because when i read that, the first thought i had was a "eat whatever you want and not take weight" kinnda spell! ahah i'm one of those girls who take weight just looking at food, and i loveeeeee food so that cound come in handy! ;)

Hi :)Thank you for this great interview!Those covers are terrific.I am definitely putting Kimberly Frost on my authortoberead list.:)Which Witch spell would I use?Love of course. :)And with that,Love from Canadatwitter.com/RKCharronxoxo

Great interview and I love your covers Kimberly!I am allergic to cats as well, but they are sooo cute! :)I haven't read any of your books yet but I would love too.

For the contest I emailed ya with my friends I emailed the contest too.As to the Spell I would use most...well it is a tie I am afraid. :) You see I am the mum of 2 and a spell for making them do the chores, home work and not fight would come in handy everyday!Second spell would be one that covered housework and cooking. It would give me sooo much more time to Read!! Woo-hoo, life is good!

Great Interview, Kimberly is a new author to me but this looks like such a great book. I would have to say that I would cast a spell that I would always be glamorous ;-)... I am too tired to make the effort most days and how wonderful it would be to wake up lookin goooood!!bjwaldron(at)gmail.com

I'd have trouble choosing just one type of spell. I think over all that I would go with a finance spell so my bank account would never get below a certain amount. Nothing greedy mind you. Just be nice never have to worry about money to pay the bills.

Loved the excerpts from your books....I like your writing style. The spell I would use the most would have to be a cleaning spell, but a spell to keep my family and myself healthy would be the most important.

That is awesome cover art -- it will definitely draw people in to take a look at the book! If I were to cast a spell it would be to read people's minds -- I'm always curious what's going on in people's heads!

If I was a witch, the spell I would use most often would be some sort of mute spell; I'd make sure I couldn't hear anything, no traffic outside, not the TV my family are reading, not my Dad shouting at the football, I would hear nothing... so I could read in peace!

I tweeted this contest:http://twitter.com/jo_scrawls/status/2782316161

I linked to this contest in my contest section, right sidebar:http://jo-scrawls.blogspot.com/

That cleaning spell someone else mentioned sounds good - I hate to clean! My cleaning spell would also have an organizing component to it, since I'd love to have an organized home as well as a clean one!

For my spell I'd take the old, traditional flying broom; airlines are just too annoying to deal with these days. Better yet, some sort of instant transportation so that I could just be wherever I wanted.

Hi Amber :) THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH!!! I am really excited to have won this book (I've sent you an email just now) and please also tell Kimberly thank you as well! This will be a great addition to my 'library' and the cover art is simply wonderful!Again, thank you so much ~